I commented on a recent uploaded image which IMHO did not went down too well once it was formated to fit inside a 1600x1200 canvas. (BTW, the pic itself is top shelf.) Another member then added that it actually made it a better wallpaper because there are more blank space for icons, which is a good point. However, that got me thinking. I have seen 100's of images so far and some of them certainty are worthy of 9 or 10/10 in terms of originality, creativity, technique and/or artistic merits but do they actually make good wallpapers? How are we "judging" the images? BTW I'm not critical of Caedes.net or us. I just think that this has become a grey area.

I think that particular wall paper was one of the best ever seen anywhere, if you want my opinion...

You are not bias by any chance, are you? . . . ;^)

Which image are you guys talking about?

Well, it is not really about a specific image but images in general. Like if you look at the new images gallery or the regular gallery. There are stuff in there that might have a very high c-index but won't really make a great wallpaper from the purely ergonomic sense. I.e. icons get lost in the colours, can't really look at it for hours without eye strain, etc.

Another thing to take into account is the dimensions of the picture.. it's terrible when somebody makes a great picture that doesn't fit the dimensions of a monitor correctly :P

I'm concidering the possibility of chaning the upload script to allow non-wallpaper shaped images. I know this would be welcomed by the photographers.

Do you mean move away from the 4:3 aspect ratio? Now, that is an interesting development. But does that fundamentally changes the charter (if there is one?! ;^) ) of caedes.net?

Seriously though... personally I dont' generally even think of checking whether the image works well with icons/toolbars etc., If it is an image I really like I use it. I havent used any that have struck me as being "bad" wallpaper. I guess any image could potentially be bad, depending on what you have on your desktop, eg I use a calender with white text and no background, which I have in the top right corner of my screen, so if I use an image with a very pale sky, or a tall white building on the right, I can't see my calender. I think the only image that would really not work in general would be something that is really busy, with multiple colors and stuff all over the screen, so icons etc would get lost in it, but I have yet to see anything like this on caedes.net...

I also think that the site has moved beyond being a site just for wallpaper. I think having a gallery/section for non-wallpaper images would be a good move... more like an art gallery than just "screensavers", if you like. I would also comment that I have seen/commented on/rated quite a few images that i liked/found interesting, that I haven't saved and wouldn't use on my desktop.

I think that all artists should make their wallpapers 1600 x 1200, and then just scale them down. That way, everyone (except those with ultra-high resolutions or widescreen) is happy.

It really does suck when there is an awesome wallpaper that is only 1024 x 768 and I'm using 1280 x 1024. For example, Apple's graphite wallpapers come in a max of 1024 x 768. Personally, I think those are about the coolest wallpapers I've ever seen, but they look crappy and distorted on my monitor.

I'm with you, Samatar. I visited Caedes initially because I was looking for good wallpapers but once I settled in (built the house, raise the family, etc hehehe), I don't really think of the images as just wallpapers anymore until I got that valid comment and then I suddenly realised that they are ALL suppose to be wallpapers. (BTW, I do download some and use them as wallpapers.)
I certainly don't evaluate my submissions purely in terms of suitability as wallpapers but I do format them 1600x1200. It can be a headache with cropping. So if what you said about caedes.net moving beyond being a wallpaper site is true then maybe we should acknowledge that.

It's a good question - in fact, I don't download some of the awesome images on this site as I don't find them particlarly suitable as a wallpaper. After I have created one of my images, I have it sitting on my desk as a wallpaper for a day or two to see if it bothers me, if the icons get lost, etc. If I don't have a problem with it - I upload it. Not all the stuff I have made gets uploaded.